the great outdoors

Making the orphanage courtyard a little nicer, a little safer and much more accessible for the kiddies!!

Kids at the door of the room they live in. Just this one single room, all the time!

One day we let the children out of their single room and allowed them to be "outside"
- Outside in this context meaning in a covered concrete courtyard. They were incredibly excited..... once they  got over being scared! These kids live in one room. When they get bathed they go to a different room. And when they are sick they might get taken out to a doctor - but that's hardly a fun trip out! Otherwise always in one room with up to 9 other kids.

Enjoying playing outside for the first time in their lives!

The pure excitement and joy on their faces was amazing! and I had to make this more permanent!!

Kids walking around the courtyard. note the large pane of glass on the right, rusty and spiky clothes lines on the left and the permanent wet/slippery patch in the corner. 

Here are some photos of the outside area pre-Lucyfication

Garden - complete with broken wood, tetanus nails, and broken glass

Large wall - looking very haunted-house-esk

otherside of the area, bike parking and weird dangerous clotheslines (nails sticking out of wood that they hang the washing on) 

This corner is permanently wet and slippery, and features storage for random bits of glass.

First job, Finding a way that this works for the carers.
 If it doesn't work for them there is no point. They need space to hang clothes, they need the kids to be safe and not finding rusty nails ad broken glass, they need it not to take up their limited time. So we agreed that the half of the courtyard near the gate be for the washing to dry and people to park their motorbikes. The half near the house for the kids to play. So I contracted some guys to build a fence, and I painted it pretty colours :)



Second job: One wall is covered in mould and the paint bursts into dust clouds when you touch it....
that ain't acceptable! So a whole lot of scrubbing and cleaning through years and years of paint! I went through 4 different COLOURS of paint on the low wall..... no idea how many layers, or years that represents.

The large wall is mouldy and dirty and just ugly. But, big and flat and perfect for murals!! So I managed to find a friend of a friend of a new Vietnamese friend - who is an arts student and willing to paint a mural for free to help the kids out! YEY! Another round of lots of scrubbing and paint scraping and cleaning. From this wall, I more than half filled a shopping bag with paint chips/dust. It isn't that big of a wall!
- of course, if a local person had done this it would have all been completed in an afternoon. They would have slapped a big, thick coat of paint over the peeling, mouldy paint currently on the wall. It would have looked vaguely shiny for a couple of months.... then all fallen off.
I'm not into that - so we scrubbed that wall to within an inch of it's life (or through an inch of paint anyway!)

The roof always leaks down onto the wall. So I had to explain a number of times - there is no point us painting this while it is leaking.... how do we fix it. but eventually the roof got fixed in an extremely Vietnam way - a piece of rusty, scary twisted metal that i am 100% sure was scrounged from the side of the road somewhere to go over the larger gap and a bucket of concrete to cover over the smaller gap.

Painters with our nice new clean white wall!

the smaller wall, I have to finish adding some more letters to
make this one be more interesting as well

Third job: The scary garden
There is a particularly sad looking garden in the courtyard. This is lovely for the kids to see trees, and leaves (one child pointed at the leaf and asked in Vietnamese "Is it a fish?" he had never seen leaves before and so was just trying to work out what it was and guess at words he had heard people say) and could be nice. The dirt in the garden is sand and bits of broken bricks and concrete. I don't know why you would dump all you chunks of concrete in there - but that's what it is! It also features a number of planks of wood with rusty nails coming out, and bits of broken glass (even a glass cup that was broken and just placed in the garden - WHY!).
So I cleaned out all the glass I could find, and the wood and made a nice fake grass lawn!

New garden bed

 Fourth job: Something nice for the kids to do!
The kids loved just being outside that first time! That's great.... but I still wanted fun things for them to do. So I got the fence builders to also build a ball pit, and acquired 500 balls!

At first the kids were a bit scared.... although I later discovered that this is because people threw them in with no one inside to help them not drown in balls! Once I got in with them - they were very happy to play!

I discovered upstairs a perfectly fine rocking horse - it was just hidden upstairs because apparently the kids would fight over it. Now, when there was 6 walkers in the room.... and they had nothing else to do, I could see they might fight over this great looking toy. But having to learn to share toys, to play with each other instead of just hoarding as many toys as possible is a pretty intensely important skill for these kids to learn. How will they ever learn that when nobody sits with them to play productively. Or shows them how to take turns! So that rocking horse is coming back!

these faces melt hearts!

Nice soft mats for smaller kids to get some outside time too

Playing on the rocking horse and the scooter board

I am so happy with how the wall painting and out side area has turned out!

Even more happy that the carers at this orphanage seem to like it too (and are realising that the kids can burn energy outside and fight less, because they have more space!).

 The carers are also letting kids come out without my prompting.... in fact, I am glad to be finished and packing up the paint scrappers, and buckets of paint seeing as often while I was working on the wall a few kids would get brought out.... supervised for a few minutes - then the carer would go inside and I would be stressing that someone is going to smash someone else on the head with a paint scrapper or something!

Photography - people of Vietnam

Here's a collection of some of my favourite photos of people. Expect more to be coming soon.... In early May I am doing a 3 day photography workshop (exciting!).

Physio's daughter being particularly photogenic during Tet

Boat woman in Hoi An

Kids at home of affection engrossed with candles on a birthday cake

Girl at home of affection coming for cuddles

Boat man in Hoi An

Young girl in a minority village in central Vietnam

Planting rice in the burnt fields. all these women were very keen to meet me and give me their stabbing sticks so I could have a turn planting the rice. 

Young girl in minority village

She was still shy, even when her sister came to join the photo fun!

Minority women walking home from the fields

Family coming back from a fishing trip in the river

Woman buying fish in the markets

Paying... to volunteer???

Altering wheelchairs in Tam Ky

While I travel I meet a lot of other travellers, at hotels or restaurants (often taking pity on me while I dine alone.... and starting conversations!). The topic of conversation often leads to how long are you travelling? 9 months, then I have to explain why I have been in Vietnam for 3 months already and not seen much of the country! Because I volunteer in Danang.

This leads to a discussion about the sort of volunteering and how it all works. Usually to people being surprised  that I "pay" or telling some story about how they were going to volunteer doing construction (or whatever) because they just finished some course about construction, but the people wanted $600 for the 3 weeks and so they decided to not volunteer. This was after they discussed how they have been travelling with their buddies, but it was much more expensive then when they travel alone - and they spent $5000 in 4 weeks!!

So, my opinions on "paying" to volunteer

1. What exactly does that include? For me the fee includes a beautiful house, all my meals cooked and ready for me, transport to and from the various locations everyday and a selection of resources to use with the kids (albeit a selection needing augmentation!). When I think of the costs of staying in a hotel, eating at restaurants (which would also be lesser quality food!), taxi's to and from the orphanages everyday.... that all adds up super quickly!

Kids at the baby orphanage

2. What sort of English speaking support are you getting? The truth is.... unless you have learnt to speak FLUENTLY the language of wherever you are,  you are going to be a hinderance to the local workers.
I have been working at the Redcross orphanage for 2 months, I understand the routines and the jobs that need doing and can do these with no assistance. But then, the mothers will be trying to ask, has this one been fed? or that one? I have picked up enough that with poor Vietnamese and sign language I can answer... kind of. But It also helps that I have translators on hand to ensure the kids all get fed!
And that's after 2 months. If you just turn up somewhere and try to get involved... without being able to talk to the people there, you will get in the way, take up their time while they are trying to show you, do things wrong, generally make their life harder! This is especially true if you are only planning to do 2 weeks of work during your backpacking holiday... or whatever.

It is also vitally important to have the translators for explaining those things that just seem really weird and wrong. Example: one of the girls who was tied up all day. For the first month, I never saw her tied to her cot. Then suddenly, she was roped in. I untied her played for a while, went to change more nappies.... and then looked back and lo and behold - she's tied up again. Eventually I asked and it was explained that while we had lots of volunteers around she would stay in the orphanage. But when it isn't busy with people, and she stops getting attention she often wanders off and once was found on the main highway, just wandering. So for her own safety, she is tied up. This is terrible and sad, and could easily be fixed by CLOSING THE GATE and adding a latch up high. But at least I understood, and I stopped untying her until I could go and spend time playing.

Play with the kids after our English lessons

My fees also cover some of the wages for three Vietnamese locals to run the business, transport us, come to orphanages and translate, and I know that they go and help out in orphanages even when there are no volunteers! This money goes to local people, who will spend it on other local people.


If on a construction site, or in a school - you are going to need just as much instruction or assistance from an English speaker as I do in my orphanage (no doubt more, especially if you are only there for a few weeks!). That person needs to be paid, chances are the person who speaks English isn't a construction worker but has in fact been hired purely for the purpose of helping volunteers. The cost of hiring an English speaking guide is probably more than the cost of one of two extra workers that would be doing the job you are going to do.... So just remember that you are probably less useful than you think. By no means am I saying don't volunteer.... but be willing to pay the wages of the people who have to be there to support you!

More post-English lesson games!

3. Remember all the other costs.....
There seem to be huge amounts of paperwork that need to be completed for the Vietnamese government EVERYtime a new person comes to volunteer. Or an old person comes back a second time. This adds a lot of admin time as well as various fees.

Plus you must have found out about the volunteering opportunity somehow - do they advertise? do they run a website? all these things cost money.

My point is:
Volunteering is an amazing experience. You will learn so much about other cultures, your own culture, yourself. You will be helpful to the place you go and you will help make kids happy and healthy. You will gain new skills and probably have an amazing holiday/volunteer-iday that you will never forget! I would 100% recommend that if you think you would like to volunteer - GO FOR IT!

But do it right - Be willing to pay for the people who you need to support you.

 (but be wary of how much you're being asked to pay - and is that going into the pockets of some big company based in America, or Australia or where ever.... Or is it going to local people and to pay for the things you need - in country support may mean people with you all the time and who are also helping out themselves - changing nappies, doing therapy. Or the option to phone someone who sits in a office all day whenever you need help.).

Adventures in March - part 2

~~ train station at midnight~~

Off the train in Ninh Binh, and up to Cuc Phuong National park.
I was really looking forward to walking through the jungle, have the nature, and peace and quiet.... maybe getting lucky and seeing some animals - but I wasn't really expecting it, after all how hard is it to see native animals (excluding kangaroos!) in the wild in Australia! and we surely have a lot more animals living in the wild!

Unfortunately the weather was misty and rainy, but that is kind of to be expected in a rainforest!

I walked up pretty steep, very slippery path to an "observation hide". the observation tower contained 3 kids, who immediately started shouting at me "hello, come here". I really did not feel like being peppered with the same question (what is your name?) 100 times.... so declined climbing up with them. instead they started coming down as I went to walk away.... I tried to escape. This lead to a slightly ridiculous situation of being chased by kids down a mountain.... and hiding off the path behind a rock for them to go past. I know they just wanted to be friendly, and curious about the Westerner. But sometimes, I am just not in the mood. once I had finished hiding behind a rock I returned to the top and climbed the tower.... that was mildly terrifying, and i went back down quite quickly when the wood cracked and sunk under my weight!

~~ terrifying "observation hide", I am sure the view is amazing sometimes..... but all I had a view of was fog!

~~minority people who live in the national park who just appeared out of the forest next to me as I was walking down the road~~

~~ This gate for some reason locked people out of the "botanical gardens" I am not sure when they are called botanical gardens, they seem to just be more recently planted trees.... some of them had signs saying what they were. To et in I had to go ask for the key, discover that they only have one key, and someone else has it. Just climb over the gate, the office woman says. It's easy for you. So I am assuming this is a low gate, not something higher than me! luckily I found it was actually unlocked and I walked in. wandered the paths for a while then decided to leave. As I did I passed the school group (complete with park ranger) who had come in while I was in there. Non of them though to mention that they had relocked the gate behind them.... and so when I wanted to leave I had to climb through that gap where one of the metal bars is missing!

On my second day I decided to rent a motorbike so that I could get to the park centre and the interesting walks. On the way I went to the cave of the prehistoric man. Apparently they found 7500 year old human remains and basic tools in here. Which is pretty cool. I had a small torch (the wind up sort that don't really give a lot of light. There was a stall at the bottom renting better looking torches for 50cents.... but I thought mine would be fine! When I went in, I discovered something.... Going into caves by yourself is actually scary. Even though, I tried to tell my brain, that I have a torch, and it's fine..... something about this big dark cavern just made my brain start yelling GET OUT, GET OUT! I persisted, and walked around to the point that I could no longer see light from the entrance. I found a ladder leading up, and a few places where i would be able to crawl through to another chamber.... and as much as I wanted to do these things, and I would have been the one encouraging us to if I had a friend in the cave..... I was too chicken!

In the case of the ladder it was in part because I worried that if i slipped (it was very wet and rusty) noone would find me. This gut feeling may have been right as I met another tourist at dinner who went into the cave with other people (so didn't have the i-am-all-alone-in-the-dark-fear) but when I asked her what was up the ladder she had no idea what I was talking about, so much not have actually walked around away from the entrance.

~~ the cave of the prehistoric man~~

Riding the bike was also fun, It was the first time I had rented a motorbike in Vietnam. Made easier by being on the very low traffic road of the national park, although, the traffic that was on the road was mostly giant buses! But it was nice to be able to ride myself around. I did a couple more long walks, these required careful timing to avoid to loud-talking-tourists (and people complain about not seeing animals) but it was nice. I thoroughly enjoyed just being in the rainforest, being in the quiet, listening to the jungle sounds.

The next day I got the local bus that only comes once a day back to Ninh Binh.... half way there I realised that when I paid.... they hadn't given me back my passport. After a hectic phone call trying to work out how I can get it (preferably without getting a taxi all the way back up!) It all worked out. A tour guide who was going with tourists into Ninh Binh dropped it at a hotel for me.... who then proceeded to quiz me before giving it back to make sure I really was Lucille Robinson. Even though, it's my passport. It has my photo!

I had a boat trip through the Van Long nature reserve. Lots of birdlife and wetlands type scenery, but with sheer limestone cliffs surrounding it. People I spoke to the day before had seen Languars (a type of monkey) but I wasn't so lucky. Possibly because the weather was freezing and windy! or possibly because I had the bad timing to arrive just after a bus tour and their tour guide kept yelling and making loud noises. I think he was making echos? I also noticed that the Vietnamese love of music extends to MUSIC ALWAYS! A boat load of Viet people who were just behind me had a mini stereo blasting music instead of enjoying the silence. At first I thought it was just that one guy, but then I past two other boats the same. So I guess it's just a thing.

~~As rugged up as was possible! still cold~~

Next day: Bike rental from the hotel to ride out to yet another limestone cliff and boat rides (There seem to be three such locations in this very small town. I passed on doing all three, two was more than enough for me!

~~boats, awaiting the hoards of tourists~~

~~ note my sexy plastic pants! These are to keep the rain and muddy road water out while I was bike riding.... I got too lazy to take them off before the boat trip, plus i was afraid it would be as freezing as the day before at Van Long!

~~rice fields and limestone cliffs, we pretty much went through a cave tunnel, and when we emerged on the other side there was no solid land or people visible. Just rice, and nature.~~

Next I journeyed on to a pagoda that is build up into the side of a mountain. So as you climb up to each level of the pagoda (the path winding up the side of the mountain and through caves and tunnels) you get a different view. Whe I arrived to park my bike at the designated bike parking spot that guy pulled out a printed official looking receipt book and tried to tell me it was 50 000 Dong to park your bike there. I looked at him incredulously, usually it costs 2000 to park a bicycle - sometimes 5000 for Westerners. Never 50! I called him out on his extreme price and he tried to tell me it included entry to the pagoda. "ticket price" he says pointing at the entrance. "It's a pagoda.... It's Free!" I said. unlocking my bike and pushing it away. He tried to block my path "How much you pay" I shook my head. "No, you cheat people. I'm not paying you" (I was keeping it light, laughing a little... I try not to be angry. He continued to try to write the bike parking numbers on the new, blank receipt book that he pulled from his pocket. "5000, he said, 5000 for bike only". I walked my bike out a little way down the road where I had passed a half a dozen bikes on my way in.
I think they actually belonged to the stall holding women, but they accepted it when I said I wanted to park my bike with them and that they guy over there charges 50 000. They had a good laugh, I assume at my refusal to be ripped off THAT much. Then asked for 2000.

at the top of level of the pagoda, when the nice concrete steps finished was a little sign pointing up a dirt track Climb up
So I did.
Of course, as previously mentioned it was wet, so the dirt track was actually a slippery mud path, complete with scattered jagged limestone rocks.
The view from the tp was pretty amazing

~~excuse the quick stitching together of photos!~~

However on the way down my foot slipped, and I managed to smash my left knee on a rock, cut open my right shin, and slice a couple of good deep cuts all the way up my right arm.
So when I got back to the bottom and the souvenir selling women leapt up to offer me bags and scarves and little wooden boats; they quickly recoiled upon seeing my arm, covered in blood and mud.
One of them stared, shook her head and muttered "Xau" which means ugly or bad.... I laughed and pointed to it... Xau? ooohhhhhhh Dep? (beautiful?) this made them all fall about laughing. And saying no. So then I went for Xau xa (very ugly or atrocious). they all agreed that my arm was in fact Xua xa, then (I guess deciding that I seemed fairly unconcerned by the bleeding) decided to try again with the souvenirs. I laughed at their attempts.... then went to buy a bottle of water to wash out my arm (the only other hand washing water being the rice field, or a well used hand washing bucket outside the toilets, that probably came from the rice fields anyway.
One of the stuff selling ladies helped me wash my arm and asked repeatedly if I needed a hospital. Then I headed off on my bike for the 8km ride back to my hotel for a shower and some wound care!


Back to Phong Nha for my 3 day caving trip.
Only myself, and a Vietnamese born, US raised san francisco-ian firefighter on the trip, so very small group travel! I was somewhat concerned that I would be struggling to keep up with our tour guide (who does this trek a couple of times a week and is like the energiser bunny!) and a fire-fighter! But turns out that growing up scrambling over rocks and up hills made me feel like a natural!

~~Pre-caving, post caving my right pants leg was about 25cm shorter. and the left featured a stylish "cut out knee" section. They also became a stunning murky brown colour~~

We crossed rivers, hiked up hills (that were mostly mud and rocks, with some trees to hang on to and try to avoid sliding all the way back down). Slid down the other side of said hills, I found it easiest to squat down and "skate" through the mud.... the guide, Thanh, and I laughing hysterically as we did this. The other trekker looking at us like we were mad, and trying hard to stay on his feet as he walked down.
The caves were mostly very large and easy to walk through, but the jungle tracks we much more overgrown and adventurous!

We learnt about many more types of cave formations (here I was thinking I was going well because I knew that stalactites go down and stalagmites go up). Finally swimming through the cave to get out to out camp site. Stunningly located at the edge of the waterfall and pool. And pre set up with camp fire and tea by our porters (who carried all the hammocks and food in for us!)

~~Caves peaking out of the jungle~~

~~This one was my favourite cave, because that rock looks like something Indiana Jones would discover is actually the secret entrance to some golden skull room. The guide seemed to struggle to see how that rock, looks like an upside-down skulls. So back me up guys, It does look skull-like, right?~~

~~ Cave pearls, like pearls, but less pretty~~

~~Swimming in the caves. On day two the swimming portion of the trek included turning off out lights and swimming in pitch blackness~~

~~The cave we were swimming in, from the outside~~

~~The view from where my Hammock was set up!~~

The next day was much less hiking, but more swimming through caves and exploring.
Unfortunately at this point, my waterproof camera got water in the lens. So no more photos. On the plus side, it still works. It just takes blurry photos - So I will find someone to repair it and all will be well :)
In the afternoon we swam under a waterfall and found the little cave-like room behind it. I found this pretty easy, using the rocks and walls to pull myself up. Definitely benefiting from many waterfall explorations in younger years! Everyone else persisted in wearing life jackets into the water even when out of the cave. But I was able to convince Thanh, the guide, that i am a good swimming and promise I wont drown if he allows me to now wear a life jacket!

Second night at a new, but equally stunning camp location. This time we got a little glimpse of the stars through the clouds, and lots of fireflies to watch as we sat by the fire.

Last day featured hiking over another mountain (I think the are really more hills than actual mountains... but let's not let facts get in the way of a good story!) and back to the village we started in for a delicious bowl of pho. First we had to back track and climb over a giant rock to avoid a snake who was happily sunning himself on the path. This featured quite a funny miming of "there's a snake on the path" (can't talk.... snake will attack :P). I found a picture later - pretty sure it wasn't a poisonous snake (just incase you were wondering!

My last two days of holiday were spent at the beautiful pepperhouse home stay in the country surrounding Phong Nha. Happy kids (relations of some description of the Vietnamese woman and her Aussie Husband who run the place) would come in at various times and be extra happy if you spent some time playing with the ball or taking photos and showing them the camera. Plus, beautiful scenery to take a bike ride or walk through, and hammocks to relax in and do nothing but read my book!

I did venture for the 8km bike ride into Phong Nha town to go to the markets.... because I wanted a hammock. These hammocks are amazing. They are some sort of reproduction of US army surplus hammocks. But, as well as zipping up into a convenient square, they come with mosquito nets that zip up and a bar at each end that you can tie up so the net is held up out of the way. Genius!

So I am looking forward to coming home, and going camping one day with my fancy new hammocks!